Emigration...

pinno

Seen as the weather has been so frikin awful and there's no sight of it improving, where would you live if you left the UK and why?

Lycra-Byka

I wouldn't want to leave the uk tbh. Got it easy here (even weather wise). Nhs, jobseekers, freedom, beautiful diverse landscapes, no deadly animals/viruses and no freakish weather.

Although if it could be a constant clear day,no wind and around 22 degrees id be happier.

Frank the tank

Lycra-Byka wrote:

I wouldn't want to leave the uk tbh. Got it easy here (even weather wise). Nhs, jobseekers, freedom, beautiful diverse landscapes, no deadly animals/viruses and no freakish weather.

Although if it could be a constant clear day,no wind and around 22 degrees id be happier.

+1 Pinarello001........................you don't know you've been born. This country of ours is far from perfect however its closer to perfct than most others and if the weather is the worst we have to moan about we're bloody lucky.

random man

The only country I've been to that I would consider living in is France. Preferably somewhere warmer not too far from the Alps. I like the French way of life and it's not too far from home and family.

finchy

If it weren't for my family I'd think very, very seriously about moving back to Slovenia. Decent weather, mountains, hills, beautiful architecture. Very good education system, friendly people, really safe towns and cities (they tend to view the British as being violent, alcoholic psychos). Nice food and drink with fresh produce being high quality and affordable.

Drawbacks: Most Slovenes turn from lovely into absolute maniacs whenever they get into a car. They are also some of the world's heaviest smokers. Crap coastline, but Croatia's just over the border for that.

rick_chasey

Love to live in Italy.

Only I can't speak any Italian and I'd not be able to get a job there.

But if I can sort those two out - lovely.

Netherlands would be fine too.


Wouldn't be particularly keen elsewhere in Europe relative to the UK, and absolutely not anywhere beyond Europe.

inseine

I live in France and the weather is hardly any better here (well better than Scotland probably!). Why? Work. I still enjoy trips back to the uk and will probably return some time. Cycling is great here and the roads are quieter, even close to Paris.

schweiz

I emigrated and at first I'd said I give it at least five years, now it's been 9 1/2 years and I don't plan on returning to blighty soon...

cleaner
better weather
better roads
higher salaries
lower taxes
better healthcare (no NHS)
skiing
Alps

there's many negatives to living here compared with the UK, but for me, the positives outweigh them by far!

Lycra-Byka

schweiz wrote:

I emigrated and at first I'd said I give it at least five years, now it's been 9 1/2 years and I don't plan on returning to blighty soon...

cleaner
better weather
better roads
higher salaries
lower taxes
better healthcare (no NHS)
skiing
Alps

there's many negatives to living here compared with the UK, but for me, the positives outweigh them by far!

Mind sharing whereabouts or us it a secret? Your little secret ?

schweiz

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neilo23

schweiz wrote:

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Maybe Lycra doesn't speak enough German to translate your nickname ;-)

I emigrated. Best thing I ever did. Wouldn't go back if yer paid me

team47b

If I left the UK it would be because of the 'daily mail' attitude that pervades all aspects of life, the negativity, the moronic behaviour of parts of society and the sense of etc etc

I would move somewhere warmer, drier, and where people are a little bit sunnier, a more relaxed culture with a different emphasis on the work/life balance.

I see downsizing and leaving the UK as an opportunity to change your life, to create the time to do all the things you never had time for when you had to go to work.

Staying in one place can lead to stagnation, the point of change is to grow.

And schweiz is right it takes about 5 years to settle in to the different way of life.

Been here 7 years now. Only thing I miss is the banter that is so much a part of UK life, the Portuguese sense of humour is a bit 'Benny Hill'

schweiz

neilo23 wrote:

schweiz wrote:

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Maybe Lycra doesn't speak enough German to translate your nickname ;-)

I emigrated. Best thing I ever did. Wouldn't go back if yer paid me

but he doesn't even have to translate my nickname, the location is written underneath in English!

Lycra-Byka

Yep didn't even look. Stupid ignorant Brit!

rick_chasey

team47b wrote:

If I left the UK it would be because of the 'daily mail' attitude that pervades all aspects of life, the negativity, the moronic behaviour of parts of society and the sense of etc etc

Think it's reasonably safe to say you will get that petit bourgeois attitude more or less everywhere in the West to some extent.

tim_wand

Rick Chasey wrote:

team47b wrote:

If I left the UK it would be because of the 'daily mail' attitude that pervades all aspects of life, the negativity, the moronic behaviour of parts of society and the sense of etc etc

Think it's reasonably safe to say you will get that petit bourgeois attitude more or less everywhere in the West to some extent.

Gawd Blimey, I agree with Rick on two points. Italy (The Lakes) and as much as I hate the Daily Mail attitude that prevails, there are many variations of it in most Westernised societies.

P.S Rick arent you in Holland, thought youd have given that a shout.

ben@31

pinarello001 wrote:

where would you live if you left the UK and why?

Want a list?

Probably Southern Italy. Living the good life and not worrying about anything. Economy? Bankers?? Pffft all I need is my bike, healthy food and a quiet Mediterranean village on the Adriatic coast, that hasn't changed in many years.

Gazzetta67

schweiz wrote:

I emigrated and at first I'd said I give it at least five years, now it's been 9 1/2 years and I don't plan on returning to blighty soon...

cleaner
better weather
better roads
higher salaries
lower taxes
better healthcare (no NHS)
skiing
Alps

there's many negatives to living here compared with the UK, but for me, the positives outweigh them by far!

Switzerland is one place i would like to live providing i had a good job and a log cabin near a ski resort and mountains in the summer for cycling. Your a lucky so & so am jealous 8)

Mikey23

France for me. Will do it when missus retires in a couple of years. Brittany probably

Gazzetta67

Mikey23 wrote:

France for me. Will do it when missus retires in a couple of years. Brittany probably

Cycled in Brittany & Normandy a few years ago coming back from the TDF - Howcome the french can have these great road surfaces and there and hardly anyone uses them ? They put our roads to shame..makes you wonder how much were being shafted in road tax anf they dont even use the effing money on the roads :evil:

DrKJM

A friend of mine moved to a ski resort north of Montreal a good few years ago. Having visited there, if I could persuade the current Mrs M I'd move tomorrow.

Gazzetta67

pinarello001 wrote:

Seen as the weather has been so frikin awful and there's no sight of it improving, where would you live if you left the UK and why?

Pinarello - Why would you want to leave the "Murder Capital of Europe" - I managed to cycle right through it this morning at 7am without any bother....suppose averaging 17mph helped

team47b

Rick Chasey wrote:

team47b wrote:

If I left the UK it would be because of the 'daily mail' attitude that pervades all aspects of life, the negativity, the moronic behaviour of parts of society and the sense of etc etc

Think it's reasonably safe to say you will get that petit bourgeois attitude more or less everywhere in the West to some extent.

The petit bourgeois is a lower middle class group, there is culturally a different class system here, so mostly it's generally the Brits who try to reinforce this social paradigm.

confused@BR

When I first visited Australia (over ten years ago :shock: ) I loved it and longed to move there. Nowadays I still love it but could not live there Currency movements and the general cost of living has conspired against us, also I became aware that the culture is a bit 'monochrome' :? The emphasis on sport and gambling is rather relentless; difficult if you, like me, are very against gambling in all it's shapes - I don't even buy a raffle ticket - Australians seem to find the whole idea strange.

A great country, busy heading into all sorts of social trouble.

verylonglegs

I would have thought the most obvious clue about how good it is to live in the UK is the number of people who seek to move here themselves...so it can't be that bad can it?

Not sure where I'd go if was to leave, have only been on holiday to other places which never offers a realistic assessment of what it would actually be like to live there on a day to day basis. Somewhere without stupid people...does that exist??

Jez mon

I'd probably consider many places, and am looking for jobs which offer opportunities to do so...Top of the list would be living it up in the UAE as my brother is out there at the moment, the cycling routes are a bit boring, aside from that, Canada and New Zealand would both be pretty far up the list.

schweiz

verylonglegs wrote:

I would have thought the most obvious clue about how good it is to live in the UK is the number of people who seek to move here themselves...so it can't be that bad can it?

Not sure where I'd go if was to leave, have only been on holiday to other places which never offers a realistic assessment of what it would actually be like to live there on a day to day basis. Somewhere without stupid people...does that exist??

True, compared to some places in this world the UK is an excellent place to live. The major cities have a great cosmopolitan feel and there are well established ex-patriot communities from every corner of the globe. The UK has traditionally been an immigrant country with the Celts, the Norse, the Normans and more all settling. If it hadn't have been for Sir Francis Drake, there’d be a lot more Spanish blood in the UK mix too.

However, in more recent history, immigrants to the UK have tended to be from poorer countries trying to seek their fortune rather than from richer countries trying to exploit our natural wealth and resources. However, many (the majority?) of these people have been a benefit to the UK economy, not the drain that the Daily Mail et al would have you believe.

Whether it be the Irish immigrants following the potato famine, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other Commonwealth immigrants helping to rebuild a bankrupt country post WWII or the more recent wave of immigration from eastern Europe which has filled a hole in the UK employment market between the (relatively small) number of people who won’t work and the new wave of ‘professionals’ with degrees unwilling or unable to employed in certain sectors.

Surely someone must realise that all sending 40-50% of all children to a University or a ‘University’ (by ‘University’ I mean the institutions that let you start a degree course with no or extremely poor qualifications and no practical experience) achieves is that unemployment of young people is reduced. 40%-50% of the population can’t all be professional middle and senior managers, regardless of the chosen profession. Regardless of how the education system functions in churning out graduates, the real world doesn’t and can’t function like that.

I would argue that the main reasons to coming to the UK at the moment are

1. Language. English is probably the most common second language for those who don’t speak it as a mother tongue. Finding work is therefore easier.

2. Availability of non-skilled service jobs that the indigenous population won’t / can’t do for the national minimum wage.

3. A national minimum wage that, relative to the wages for an unskilled or semi-skilled job from which the immigrant is coming, is high

4. A social security system that provides relatively generous housing, healthcare and other support relatively easily therefore the risk of being destitute is low.

So to recap, the majority of immigrants coming to the UK are seeking wealth and opportunity, which is exactly the same as what I did when I emigrated!

The UK is not really a bad place to live it’s just that I and friends that I have here in Switzerland as well as friends from the UK who have emigrated to Canada, the Middle East, New Zealand, Australia and across Europe feel that other countries provide us a ‘better life’. For balance, I also know people who have emigrated and couldn’t get back to Blighty quick enough!

As a guide to anyone reading this thread who is thinking of emigrating from the UK, as I and team47b have said, you really have to give yourself time (4-5 years) to adapt to a new country and a new way of life. You have to make a real effort to learn the language and understand the people and the culture. It is completely different from going on holiday somewhere. You become the minority. There is sometimes (unintentional or otherwise) xenophobia or racism against you. But if you make an effort to settle, people will help you. If you spend all your time trying to force everyone around you to think like a Brit, speak like a Brit and live like a Brit then you’re on to a loser from day one!

daviesee

DrKJM wrote:

A friend of mine moved to a ski resort north of Montreal a good few years ago. Having visited there, if I could persuade the current Mrs M I'd move tomorrow.

I lived in Montreal for 5 years and loved it.
Here is the counterbalance though, and why I wouldn't move back.
1st winter - New, novelty factor, fun.
2nd & 3rd winter - go skiing/snowboarding. This is fun.
4th winter - getting tedious now and the occasional skiing day doesn't compensate for the other 6 at -16/-20 but at least there is the summer to look forward to.
5th winter - had enough and the summers don't compensate enough.

Just to confirm what is said in posts above - You 100% have to immerse into the local language and culture or you may as well not bother.

freddiegrubb

I don't care what anybody says, there is no " paradise" for the working man. There's nothing worse than grafting in heat so stay with the devil you know.

lostboysaint

South of France or somewhere between Vancouver and Calgary in Canada, possibly Kelowna.

Pross

Bloody emigrants, going over there, stealing their jobs and expecting them to adapt their society to suit

New Zealand and Canada have always been top of my list and if it hadn't been for the kids and all the hassle of selling up / moving a family I think I would have succumbed in the last few years. I also quite fancy Switzerland for the reasons Schweiz makes. The Scandinavian countries also appeal to me. Climate obviously isn't a big factor in any of those, I think I just long for a better quality of life in a relatively unspoilt country.